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I love you found a place for Leknessund though. I remember former Norwegian national selector and current Uno-X sports director, Stig Kristiansen, proclaimed Leknessund is perhaps the biggest talent to come out of Norway ever. Even ahead of Boasson Hagen at a similar age, I think he stated!
I actually also considered Timothy Dupont for a while but of course in the end found him too old and conservative a pick to be bothered. Do you know who I also considered? His Polish team-mate Stanisław Aniołkowski, who is also super versatile in his rider repertoire. But in the end, Aniołkowski was too expensive even for my gong-ho based selection!
Bernal, Pidock and De Plus makes 'only' 3 Ineos riders. Was breaking my head over the fourth one but figured you miscounted Froome, understandably.
Grondahl Jansen in the top 20?Okay, here's the popularity table in two parts:
| BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley | 83 |
| BUCHMANN Emanuel | 79 |
| PIDCOCK Thomas | 76 |
| FROOME Chris | 72 |
| KRUIJSWIJK Steven | 72 |
| POLITT Nils | 65 |
| VANMARCKE Sep | 62 |
| JUNGELS Bob | 61 |
| LATOUR Pierre | 61 |
| DE PLUS Laurens | 56 |
| SAGAN Peter | 55 |
| BARDET Romain | 47 |
| SARREAU Marc | 43 |
| SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro | 42 |
| NAESEN Oliver | 42 |
| MOSCON Gianni | 39 |
| EVENEPOEL Remco | 39 |
| TRENTIN Matteo | 36 |
| TEUNISSEN Mike | 34 |
| VAN AVERMAET Greg | 33 |
| GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando | 33 |
| JANSEN Amund Grøndahl | 33 |
| MOLLEMA Bauke | 33 |
| VIVIANI Elia | 32 |
| THOMAS Geraint | 32 |
| LAPORTE Christophe | 32 |
| SIVAKOV Pavel | 31 |
| LUTSENKO Alexey | 31 |
| BRENNER Marco | 31 |
| HIGUITA GARCIA Sergio Andres | 30 |
| VANSEVENANT Mauri | 28 |
| ALAPHILIPPE Julian | 27 |
| HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose | 25 |
| ARENSMAN Thymen | 24 |
| GALLOPIN Tony | 23 |
| MATTHEWS Michael | 23 |
| SIMMONS Quinn | 22 |
| LAWLESS Christopher | 21 |
| BJERG Mikkel | 21 |
| TERPSTRA Niki | 21 |
| PINOT Thibaut | 20 |
| DAINESE Alberto | 19 |
| CAVENDISH Mark | 19 |
| GAUDU David | 19 |
| HIRSCHI Marc | 19 |
| BISSEGGER Stefan | 19 |
| COLBRELLI Sonny | 18 |
| VALGREN HUNDAHL (ANDERSEN) Michael | 18 |
| TEUNS Dylan | 18 |
| WELLENS Tim | 18 |
| VAN WILDER Ilan | 18 |
| CALMEJANE Lilian | 18 |
| GILBERT Philippe | 18 |
| LEKNESSUND Andreas | 18 |
| BOL Cees | 17 |
| GARCIA CORTINA Ivan | 17 |
| HALVORSEN Kristoffer | 17 |
| CHAMPOUSSIN Clément | 16 |
| HAMILTON Lucas | 16 |
| LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel | 15 |
| FOSS Tobias Svendsen | 15 |
| KRISTOFF Alexander | 14 |
| ARU Fabio | 14 |
| YATES Simon | 14 |
| OOMEN Sam | 13 |
| YATES Adam | 13 |
| DUPONT Timothy | 13 |
| FORMOLO Davide | 13 |
| BOASSON HAGEN Edvald | 13 |
| TEJADA CANACUE Harold Alfonso | 12 |
| BEVIN Patrick | 12 |
| KUSS Sepp | 12 |
| MODOLO Sacha | 11 |
| VERMAERKE Kevin | 11 |
| ALEOTTI Giovanni | 11 |
| ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo | 11 |
| HERMANS Quinten | 11 |
| BAGIOLI Andrea | 11 |
| CAMARGO PINEDA Diego Andres | 10 |
| PADUN Mark | 10 |
| DEKKER David | 10 |
| VINGEGAARD RASMUSSEN Jonas | 9 |
| VAN DER POEL Mathieu | 9 |
| RIVERA SERRANO Kevin | 9 |
| ZAKARIN Ilnur | 9 |
| HAYTER Ethan | 9 |
| VLASOV Aleksandr | 9 |
| MCNULTY Brandon | 9 |
| MEEUS Jordi | 8 |
| IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion | 8 |
| CICCONE Giulio | 8 |
| DONOVAN Mark | 8 |
| URAN URAN Rigoberto | 8 |
| THIJSSEN Gerben | 8 |
| GESBERT Elie | 8 |
| WALLS Matthew | 7 |
| HÄNNINEN Jaakko | 7 |
| VERMEERSCH Florian | 7 |
| BETTIOL Alberto | 7 |
| VERVLOESEM Xandres | 7 |
| UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago | 7 |
| TAARAMÄE Rein | 7 |
| MARECZKO Jakub | 7 |
| VAN GARDEREN Tejay | 6 |
| JORGENSON Matteo | 6 |
| CRADDOCK Lawson | 6 |
| EWAN Caleb | 6 |
| KANTER Max | 6 |
| GENIEZ Alexandre | 6 |
| MOSCHETTI Matteo | 6 |
| GROVES Kaden | 6 |
| RUBIO REYES Einer Augusto | 6 |
| HIRT Jan | 6 |
| MÄDER Gino | 6 |
| Ayuso Juan | 5 |
| KÄMNA Lennard | 5 |
| KOOIJ Olav | 5 |
| LANGEVELD Sebastian | 5 |
| RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos | 5 |
| BENOOT Tiesj | 5 |
| BALLERINI Davide | 5 |
| VAN AERT Wout | 5 |
| O'CONNOR Ben | 5 |
| HAVIK Piotr | 5 |
| PEDERSEN Mads | 5 |
| EEKHOFF Nils | 5 |
| GARRISON Ian | 5 |
| MOHORIC Matej | 5 |
| STEWART Jake | 5 |
| JULES Justin | 5 |
| DENNIS Rohan | 5 |
| ASGREEN Kasper | 5 |
| NORSGAARD JØRGENSEN Mathias | 5 |
| BOUDAT Thomas | 5 |
| MASNADA Fausto | 5 |
| CORT NIELSEN Magnus | 5 |
| ZWIEHOFF Ben | 5 |
| DEBUSSCHERE Jens | 4 |
| DUNBAR Eddie | 4 |
| VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro | 4 |
| HAIG Jack | 4 |
| STUYVEN Jasper | 4 |
| HONORE Mikkel Frølich | 4 |
| TOUZE Damien | 4 |
| KNOX James | 4 |
| DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd | 4 |
| LANDA MEANA Mikel | 4 |
| POWER Robert | 4 |
| MADOUAS Valentin | 4 |
| SWIRBUL Keegan | 4 |
| MARTIN Tony | 4 |
| TIBERI Antonio | 4 |
| MILAN Jonathan | 4 |
| VACEK Mathias | 4 |
| COSNEFROY Benoît | 4 |
| VANHOUCKE Harm | 4 |
| ARROYAVE CAÑAS Daniel | 4 |
| DUMOULIN Tom | 4 |
| NEILANDS Krists | 4 |
| PALZER Anton | 4 |
| PLANCKAERT Baptiste | 4 |
| VALTER Attila | 3 |
| DYBALL Benjamin | 3 |
| HAILU Biniam Girmay | 3 |
| LARSEN Niklas | 3 |
| JAKOBSEN Fabio | 3 |
| PRONSKIY Vadim | 3 |
| VAN DER HOORN Taco | 3 |
| ROMO OLIVER Javier | 3 |
| CHERKASOV Nikolay | 3 |
| RUTSCH Jonas | 3 |
| MERLIER Tim | 3 |
| SAJNOK Szymon | 3 |
| BARTA William | 3 |
| SHEFFIELD Magnus | 3 |
| GANNA Filippo | 3 |
| BENNETT Sam | 3 |
| GREIPEL André | 3 |
| STYBAR Zdenek | 3 |
| BARBIER Pierre | 3 |
| HAGEN Carl Fredrik | 3 |
| CAVAGNA Rémi | 3 |
| JACOBS Johan | 3 |
| WOODS Michael | 3 |
| BERHANE Natnael Teweldemedhin | 3 |
| PÖSTLBERGER Lukas | 3 |
| EIKING Odd Christian | 3 |
Part 2:
| FEDOROV Yevgeniy | 2 |
| REYNDERS Jens | 2 |
| GONZALEZ RIVERA Abner | 2 |
| KWIATKOWSKI Michal | 2 |
| HAMILTON Chris | 2 |
| ARNDT Nikias | 2 |
| TULETT Ben | 2 |
| CIMOLAI Davide | 2 |
| VIGO DEL ARCO Marti | 2 |
| FRANK Mathias | 2 |
| GEBREIGZABHIER Amanuel Werkilul | 2 |
| AFFINI Edoardo | 2 |
| JANS Roy | 2 |
| COQUARD Bryan | 2 |
| JOYCE Colin | 2 |
| BRUNEL Alexys | 2 |
| VACEK Karel | 2 |
| HERREGODTS Rune | 2 |
| VAN GILS Maxim | 2 |
| ALBA BOLIVAR Juan Diego | 2 |
| WANDAHL Frederik | 2 |
| COVI Alessandro | 2 |
| RIES Michel | 2 |
| MOZZATO Luca | 2 |
| ROMO Javier | 2 |
| CEPEDA ORTIZ Jefferson Alexander | 2 |
| SCHACHMANN Maximilian | 2 |
| PHILIPSEN Jasper | 2 |
| STEIMLE Jannik | 2 |
| PICCOLO Andrea | 2 |
| DEGENKOLB John | 2 |
| ELOSEGUI MOMEÑE Iñigo | 2 |
| FLOREZ LOPEZ Miguel Eduardo | 2 |
| POGACAR Tadej | 2 |
| TURGIS Anthony | 2 |
| BATTISTELLA Samuele | 2 |
| DEWULF Stan | 2 |
| POWLESS Neilson | 2 |
| VAN ASBROECK Tom | 2 |
| POZZOVIVO Domenico | 2 |
| DLAMINI Nicholas | 2 |
| PRADES REVERTER Eduard | 2 |
| CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban | 2 |
| QUINN Sean | 2 |
| WILLIAMS Stephen | 2 |
| REPA Vojtech | 2 |
| CERNY Josef | 2 |
| DOULL Owain | 1 |
| THOMAS Benjamin | 1 |
| CHAMPION Thomas | 1 |
| NIEUWENHUIS Joris | 1 |
| KAMP Alexander | 1 |
| EVANS Alexander | 1 |
| GROSSSCHARTNER Felix | 1 |
| NOVIKOV Savva | 1 |
| DEBESAY Yakob Abraha | 1 |
| BUDDING Martijn | 1 |
| MORTON Lachlan | 1 |
| OLDANI Stefano | 1 |
| VAN GENECHTEN Jonas | 1 |
| OLIVEIRA Rui Filipe Alves | 1 |
| VIVIANI Attilio | 1 |
| GAVAZZI Francesco | 1 |
| MENDEZ NOREÑA Daniel Alejandro | 1 |
| OSORIO CARVAJAL Alejandro | 1 |
| JONES Taj | 1 |
| ZOCCARATO Samuele | 1 |
| GUERREIRO Ruben Antonio Almeida | 1 |
| ELISSONDE Kenny | 1 |
| TOUPALIK Adam | 1 |
| PAJUR Markus | 1 |
| JUUL JENSEN Christopher | 1 |
| HOELGAARD Daniel | 1 |
| CANOLA Marco | 1 |
| PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien | 1 |
| HAUSSLER Heinrich | 1 |
| PEAK Barnabas | 1 |
| VICHOT Arthur | 1 |
| ARCHIBALD John | 1 |
| KRON Andreas Lorentz | 1 |
| PEÑALVER ANIORTE Manuel | 1 |
| FRANCZAK Pawel | 1 |
| PEREZ Anthony | 1 |
| STOKBRO Andreas Nielsen | 1 |
| PETERS Nans | 1 |
| SUNDERLAND Dylan | 1 |
| PETIT Adrien | 1 |
| TAMINIAUX Lionel | 1 |
| LOPEZ PEREZ Juan Pedro | 1 |
| LAMPAERT Yves | 1 |
| COLLEONI Kevin | 1 |
| THEUNS Edward | 1 |
| AULAR SANABRIA Orluis Alberto | 1 |
| BAUHAUS Phil | 1 |
| BODNAR Maciej | 1 |
| BALMER Alexandre | 1 |
| HOFSTETTER Hugo | 1 |
| GOLDSTEIN Edo | 1 |
| EGHOLM Jakob | 1 |
| LEEMREIZE Gijs | 1 |
| ANDERSEN Søren Kragh | 1 |
| MÜHLBERGER Gregor | 1 |
| CARVALHO Andre Rodrigues | 1 |
| DILLIER Silvan | 1 |
| AVILA VANEGAS Edwin Alcibiades | 1 |
| VAN POPPEL Boy | 1 |
| HOLMES Matthew | 1 |
| BROWN Connor | 1 |
| MALUCELLI Matteo | 1 |
| VERVAEKE Louis | 1 |
| ACKERMANN Pascal | 1 |
| VIGO DEL ARCO MARTÍ | 1 |
| MARIT Arne | 1 |
| GROENEWEGEN Dylan | 1 |
| MÄRKL Niklas | 1 |
| NAKANE Hideto | 1 |
| PRODHOMME Nicolas | 1 |
| ARISTI GARDOKI Mikel | 1 |
| IMPEY Daryl | 1 |
| STANNARD Robert | 1 |
| MARTIN Guillaume | 1 |
| GESINK Robert | 1 |
| QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander | 1 |
| STORK Florian | 1 |
| RAJOVIC Dusan | 1 |
| JAUREGUI Quentin | 1 |
| RAVASI Edward | 1 |
| SWEENY Harrison | 1 |
| RENARD Alexis | 1 |
| BOHLI Tom | 1 |
| HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus | 1 |
| TANFIELD Harry | 1 |
| MAS NICOLAU Enric | 1 |
| TEJADA Harold | 1 |
| GALL Felix | 1 |
| TESFATSION Natnael Ocbit | 1 |
| DE BUYST Jasper | 1 |
| HINDLEY Jai | 1 |
| ROCHAS Rémy | 1 |
| DELACROIX Theo | 1 |
| CONCI Nicola | 1 |
| BERWICK Sebastian | 1 |
| RODRIGUEZ GARAICOECHEA Oscar | 1 |
| TOLHOEK Antwan | 1 |
| MCCARTHY Jay | 1 |
| BEN MOSHE Yuval | 1 |
| EG Niklas | 1 |
| FEDELI Alessandro | 1 |
| FANCELLU Alessandro | 1 |
| DEMARE Arnaud | 1 |
| ROWE Luke | 1 |
| HERMANS Ben | 1 |
| AMADOR BIKKAZAKOVA Andrey | 1 |
| VAKOC Petr | 1 |
| HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian | 1 |
| FOMINYKH Daniil | 1 |
| SABATINI Fabio | 1 |
| CARPENTER Robin | 1 |
| SAEZ BENITO Hector | 1 |
| BANASZEK Alan | 1 |
| BUITRAGO SANCHEZ Santiago | 1 |
| VAN DER KOOIJ Bas | 1 |
| CAMPOS LUCENA Roniel | 1 |
| KEUKELEIRE Jens | 1 |
| AYUSO PESQUERA Juan | 1 |
| MULLEN Ryan | 1 |
| LASTRA MARTINEZ Jonathan | 1 |
| MULUBRHAN Henok | 1 |
| SCHWARZMANN Michael | 1 |
| KOCH Jonas | 1 |
| SCOTSON Callum | 1 |
| BOUCEK Jakub | 1 |
| SCOTSON Miles | 1 |
| VERSCHAEVE Viktor | 1 |
| SERRANO RODRIGUEZ Gonzalo | 1 |
| KREUZIGER Roman | 1 |
| SHAW James | 1 |
| MUÑOZ LANCHEROS Cristian Camilo | 1 |
| MEINTJES Louis | 1 |
| GARCIA PIERNA Raul | 1 |
| SILLANKORVA Jaakko | 1 |
| BARBIER Rudy | 1 |
| DE PLUS Jasper | 1 |
| VLIEGEN Loïc | 1 |
| DE PLUS Laruens | 1 |
| WALSCHEID Maximilian | 1 |
| SKUJINS Toms | 1 |
| WEEMAES Sasha | 1 |
| SOBRERO Matteo | 1 |
| NARVAEZ PRADO Jhonatan Manuel | 1 |
| BACKAERT Frederik | 1 |
| WRIGHT Fred | 1 |
| SOTO MARTINEZ Nelson Andres | 1 |
| STACCHIOTTI Riccardo | 1 |
| ROSA Diego | 1 |
| PLAPP Lucas | 1 |
| POELS Wout | 1 |
| PACIONI Luca | 1 |
| CULLAIGH Gabriel | 1 |
It's true that Timothy Dupont was almost "too old and conservative a pick to be bothered" even for me! That is saying a lot. Definitely the pick I was least excited about, I think he slotted in when I had about 27 riders and I just needed someone I could trust in that range.
Yeah Leknessund was a must have. He was one rider where I overrode my general tendency to have a firm basis for estimating his score and just went with the 'he's really good so pick him' feel. Well, him and Remco, but that was a different reason the score was uncertain. I needed to cut some costs when I had about 7-8 spots left (just before Dupont actually), and put Pinot out of my team and slotted in Sivakov and Leknessund. I need at least a few guys who are potentially primed for a career leap (which, ok, neither of these guys are obscure and Sivakov certainly had a career leap year already too) to get excited about.
I also strongly considered Aniolkowski! I believe it was him, Kron and Steimle where my final notes next to them were identical: "in another year maybe". Admittedly I literally knew nothing of Aniolkowski before noticing his CQ score while prepping for this game, so it's not like I'm a fan, but I was intrigued by what I dug up. Disappointed I couldn't fit Champoussin in as well.
One guy who I strongly considered who's not on many teams but I think could be a great pick - Jasper Philipsen. He's so fast and versatile that he can score wherever he's put in, and having VdP on your team means you might be able to capitalize if everyone marks him out. With the hybrid WT/Pro calendar Alpecin is riding, he could get upwards of 1500.
Okay, here's a bare bones version of the spreadsheet if you wanna take it for a test run and peruse it. Note that aside from the Rankings tab and the individual team pages it links to (as well as the popularity tabs), the rest of it is a bit of a ghost town... I keep a sheet for the start of the season with prior contestants so I don't have to make new tabs, so there are way more tabs than participants, I've only edited down the Rankings page links to who's in this year so far. All other stuff will be edited in the next week (before week 2 update when the weekly leaders etc start to matter). But have a look!
What? You mean Froome doesn't ride for Ineos anymore? Egad, that was a funny slip up. I even included him on the list of riders who changed teams!Bernal, Pidock and De Plus makes 'only' 3 Ineos riders. Was breaking my head over the fourth one but figured you miscounted Froome, understandably.
Cool stat: Laurens De Plus is both a unique pick AND in the top 10 of most picked riders.
You mean there's not a third De Plus named "Laruens"?Cool stat: Laurens De Plus is both a unique pick AND in the top 10 of most picked riders.
Whoops, there are always a few that get missed especially when they're near zero points so I don't notice when they're not picked up by the spreadsheet. AC has already sent me a handful of typo names to follow up on, which I'll try to do before the first update on Monday.
- Jan 1, 2018
- 59
- 53
- 8,780
thanks a lot!
well, no unique picks this year, moreover got achievement of having all top-10 most picked riders in my team.
close to unique:
RIES Michel - my internal voice of the bottom finisher in this game for several years in a row told me to get him. But in fact I'd like to watch closer on his development and in worst case he will grab his points in Luxembourg NC and TT.
JACOBS Johan - another perfect example of the pick who will have brilliant points as soon as he will be out of my team, so in 2022. With Roelandts retirement I hope he will have promising spring at least.
PADUN Mark - fan pick. Till the very last moment I was hoping Andrii Ponomar will find Pro team, but unfortunately only one Ukrainian for this year.
ALBA BOLIVAR + ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo - brutal 2020 for both but I'm still under impression of their 2019 baby Giro.
COSNEFROY Benoît - only four picks out of 90+ teams, probably for a reason. But I'm cautiously optimistic about him, let see if this gamble will pay off...
VAN DER POEL Mathieu - 9 picks. With all those cheep picks this time there was unique opportunity to attract a luxury points rider. Debut in Roubaix and TdF - how could I miss that?
anyway, good luck to all participants, lets hope this year will be normal one.
well, no unique picks this year, moreover got achievement of having all top-10 most picked riders in my team.
close to unique:
RIES Michel - my internal voice of the bottom finisher in this game for several years in a row told me to get him. But in fact I'd like to watch closer on his development and in worst case he will grab his points in Luxembourg NC and TT.
JACOBS Johan - another perfect example of the pick who will have brilliant points as soon as he will be out of my team, so in 2022. With Roelandts retirement I hope he will have promising spring at least.
PADUN Mark - fan pick. Till the very last moment I was hoping Andrii Ponomar will find Pro team, but unfortunately only one Ukrainian for this year.
ALBA BOLIVAR + ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo - brutal 2020 for both but I'm still under impression of their 2019 baby Giro.
COSNEFROY Benoît - only four picks out of 90+ teams, probably for a reason. But I'm cautiously optimistic about him, let see if this gamble will pay off...
VAN DER POEL Mathieu - 9 picks. With all those cheep picks this time there was unique opportunity to attract a luxury points rider. Debut in Roubaix and TdF - how could I miss that?
anyway, good luck to all participants, lets hope this year will be normal one.
Okay, I'm almost outta gas for this endeavor for today, but would like to spill a few words on my team. I'll go with the cheapest third of my team for now, as they're likely the ones for which an explanation is most interesting:
Matteo Moschetti (180 points, 6 teams) - a hip fracture is a hard injury sometimes, and although he had basically a 6 month break after his injury last year, he didn't even look like he could keep up with the pro peloton upon his return. So I understand the hesitancy of people to pick him. But for the short periods when he's been good the last two years, he's looked like a real top sprinter. Beating Ackermann two days in a row in Mallorca to start the year seems to me what he's capable of at his best. I'll just have to hope he's had a good off-season (sounds like it's been ok from what I've read) and has enough chances throughout the year to score 400-600 (or more) points.
Ion Izagirre (312 points, 8 teams) - I hesitated when the early Spanish races were postponed because he often gets some early season points there, but then I figured if they do end up being run in May then he'll very possibly have a run at them with a lesser field then if they were the season openers for everyone. But mainly, there aren't that many one-week stage race specialists around, so mostly riders who missed out on points last year were cobbles guys. But I can't think of anyone who stands to benefit more than Izagirre from the return of races like Catalunya, Itzulia, Romandie and Suisse (although if Spilak wasn't retired he'd have some competition for those last two). His average score the 4 years prior to 2020 has been 1058, so that gave some numerical backup to wanting to pick him.
Edvald Boasson Hagen (131 points, 13 teams) and Timothy Dupont (114 points, 13 teams) - two boring old dudes born in 1987 coming from completely different sides of the tracks - one was heralded as the future of cycling in 2008 before having a very good but still underwhelming career (while also serving as the prototype of the Sky-train method of getting the biggest engine in the peloton to help kill all excitement in a GT), and one has toiled on CT and PCT level teams but managed to rack up impressive CQ hauls on the backroads of Belgium. Both should benefit heavily from the possible return of lower-ranked races. In general, I shied away from guys who got more of their points from .1 races due to the uncertainty of the calendar, but these are two guys who can adapt and score at the HC level and even with stronger fields in the smaller races. It's not like they got all their points from winning 5 stages in Fuzhou or something.
Alexander Kristoff (519 points, 14 teams) - see above (1987 birth included), but substitute in better races. But seriously, the dude still has it. You won't find a more consistently excellent hardman this side of Greg Van Avermaet; his problem last year was basically not enough races he could score points in. With a full slate of classics this year, he might not reach the heights of his average score from 2016-19 (which was 1697 - I relied a fair bit on this kind of calculation to try to tease out all the strong options for established riders this year), but I wouldn't be surprised if he came close.
Sonny Colbrelli (347 points, 18 teams) - for some variety, he was born in 1990. Yes you are sensing a pattern here, the logic of this season forced me to conclude that these types of pick were the best value. Definitely in the vein of my other picks of Kristoff, GVA, Naesen, Trentin, Vanmarcke in the sense that he's part of a group of riders who suffered from the outright cancellation of so many of their marquee CQ-point events. But he's less consistent in the cobbles, and versatile in the hilly races as well, so there's lots of opportunity regardless. I wouldn't be surprised to see him close to his (you guessed it) 2016-19 average of 1110.
Andreas Leknessund (213 points, 18 teams) - okay, now some actual variety. He's a white-hot talent who handily beat a very impressive field in Course de Paix as an U23 in 2019 while finishing second in two other big stage races. He started 2020 with a top 20 in Algarve before lockdown and then won some local races coming out of it, placed 4th in a 2.1 race, won a 2.2 race, and then finished 13th in the elite TT race as an under-raced neo-pro... and was disappointed with it. I think he's got good potential for 600-800 points, especially if those late-spring HC Norwegian stage races come back on the scene. He'll be good wherever he goes.
Chris Lawless (25 points, 21 teams) - two years ago when he scored 465 points, okay he got a bunch from winning Yorkshire, which isn't happening this year. But also, his two other big CQ point races were 4th in Tour de Wallonie and 3rd in Scheldeprijs. You know what those races have in common? Not very much! You know what kind of races those results cover? Pretty much all the smaller races on the French calendar that he's more likely to race with Total Direct Energie. I'm bullish on his score this year.
Alvaro Hodeg (129 points, 25 teams) - he was one of the last additions to my team, I was trying to decide between Dainese, Groves, Calmejane and him, and he was last on the list until I took a final look at things. I realized that last year he was just missing a couple of those .1 and .HC races that Qst always does that he can just randomly get 80-140 points at some race you might forget is even on in mid-August. It is a bit of a leap to assume those races will go ahead, but as a fallback he's shown that he can hang in WT stage sprints too. Plus the sprint setup in Qst is Bennett as top-tier marquee sprinter, Ballerini as good hilly backup, Cav as experienced leadout most likely, leaving Hodeg a fair amount of ground to carve out (Jakobsen's return may overlap with that a bit too). Also, when in doubt, just don't doubt Quickstep in this game.
Sergio Higuita (503 points, 30 teams) - I haven't forgotten what he did earlier last season. He won the Colombian Nationals, won the Tour of Colombia against a great field, got third in Paris-Nice, and then things stopped. He had 471 points and looked like a great pick at >900. Then he rode the Dauphine and crashed. Then he rode the Tour and crashed, and that was pretty much it. Some riders have tendencies to crash, others are just unlucky sometimes, and as long as it's not the former with him, he can score on any terrain and can win against good fields, so I've gotta pick him. 1500-2000 is reachable.
Pavel Sivakov (368 points, 31 teams) - coming out of lockdown last year, word was that he was beasting it at Ineos training camp. It looked like he was poised to build on the breakout year of 2019. He got 2nd in Occitanie behind his teammate, and then finished just over 3 minutes back in the Dauphine after losing 2:53 riding Thomas to the finish line in stage 2 before it was clear Thomas wasn't good enough to lead (and before Bernal withdrew). Then he crashed extremely heavily at the start of the Tour and rode his battered self to the end with a 4th place stage on the way. He's the type of rider that's good enough to get 2nd while riding for his leader who wins; I'm convinced he can top 5 a GT even if he doesn't lead. And he's good enough that he should be able to find himself in the lead, even at Ineos. 800-1200 seems attainable.
Okay, that's it for now. Might follow up on others later.
Matteo Moschetti (180 points, 6 teams) - a hip fracture is a hard injury sometimes, and although he had basically a 6 month break after his injury last year, he didn't even look like he could keep up with the pro peloton upon his return. So I understand the hesitancy of people to pick him. But for the short periods when he's been good the last two years, he's looked like a real top sprinter. Beating Ackermann two days in a row in Mallorca to start the year seems to me what he's capable of at his best. I'll just have to hope he's had a good off-season (sounds like it's been ok from what I've read) and has enough chances throughout the year to score 400-600 (or more) points.
Ion Izagirre (312 points, 8 teams) - I hesitated when the early Spanish races were postponed because he often gets some early season points there, but then I figured if they do end up being run in May then he'll very possibly have a run at them with a lesser field then if they were the season openers for everyone. But mainly, there aren't that many one-week stage race specialists around, so mostly riders who missed out on points last year were cobbles guys. But I can't think of anyone who stands to benefit more than Izagirre from the return of races like Catalunya, Itzulia, Romandie and Suisse (although if Spilak wasn't retired he'd have some competition for those last two). His average score the 4 years prior to 2020 has been 1058, so that gave some numerical backup to wanting to pick him.
Edvald Boasson Hagen (131 points, 13 teams) and Timothy Dupont (114 points, 13 teams) - two boring old dudes born in 1987 coming from completely different sides of the tracks - one was heralded as the future of cycling in 2008 before having a very good but still underwhelming career (while also serving as the prototype of the Sky-train method of getting the biggest engine in the peloton to help kill all excitement in a GT), and one has toiled on CT and PCT level teams but managed to rack up impressive CQ hauls on the backroads of Belgium. Both should benefit heavily from the possible return of lower-ranked races. In general, I shied away from guys who got more of their points from .1 races due to the uncertainty of the calendar, but these are two guys who can adapt and score at the HC level and even with stronger fields in the smaller races. It's not like they got all their points from winning 5 stages in Fuzhou or something.
Alexander Kristoff (519 points, 14 teams) - see above (1987 birth included), but substitute in better races. But seriously, the dude still has it. You won't find a more consistently excellent hardman this side of Greg Van Avermaet; his problem last year was basically not enough races he could score points in. With a full slate of classics this year, he might not reach the heights of his average score from 2016-19 (which was 1697 - I relied a fair bit on this kind of calculation to try to tease out all the strong options for established riders this year), but I wouldn't be surprised if he came close.
Sonny Colbrelli (347 points, 18 teams) - for some variety, he was born in 1990. Yes you are sensing a pattern here, the logic of this season forced me to conclude that these types of pick were the best value. Definitely in the vein of my other picks of Kristoff, GVA, Naesen, Trentin, Vanmarcke in the sense that he's part of a group of riders who suffered from the outright cancellation of so many of their marquee CQ-point events. But he's less consistent in the cobbles, and versatile in the hilly races as well, so there's lots of opportunity regardless. I wouldn't be surprised to see him close to his (you guessed it) 2016-19 average of 1110.
Andreas Leknessund (213 points, 18 teams) - okay, now some actual variety. He's a white-hot talent who handily beat a very impressive field in Course de Paix as an U23 in 2019 while finishing second in two other big stage races. He started 2020 with a top 20 in Algarve before lockdown and then won some local races coming out of it, placed 4th in a 2.1 race, won a 2.2 race, and then finished 13th in the elite TT race as an under-raced neo-pro... and was disappointed with it. I think he's got good potential for 600-800 points, especially if those late-spring HC Norwegian stage races come back on the scene. He'll be good wherever he goes.
Chris Lawless (25 points, 21 teams) - two years ago when he scored 465 points, okay he got a bunch from winning Yorkshire, which isn't happening this year. But also, his two other big CQ point races were 4th in Tour de Wallonie and 3rd in Scheldeprijs. You know what those races have in common? Not very much! You know what kind of races those results cover? Pretty much all the smaller races on the French calendar that he's more likely to race with Total Direct Energie. I'm bullish on his score this year.
Alvaro Hodeg (129 points, 25 teams) - he was one of the last additions to my team, I was trying to decide between Dainese, Groves, Calmejane and him, and he was last on the list until I took a final look at things. I realized that last year he was just missing a couple of those .1 and .HC races that Qst always does that he can just randomly get 80-140 points at some race you might forget is even on in mid-August. It is a bit of a leap to assume those races will go ahead, but as a fallback he's shown that he can hang in WT stage sprints too. Plus the sprint setup in Qst is Bennett as top-tier marquee sprinter, Ballerini as good hilly backup, Cav as experienced leadout most likely, leaving Hodeg a fair amount of ground to carve out (Jakobsen's return may overlap with that a bit too). Also, when in doubt, just don't doubt Quickstep in this game.
Sergio Higuita (503 points, 30 teams) - I haven't forgotten what he did earlier last season. He won the Colombian Nationals, won the Tour of Colombia against a great field, got third in Paris-Nice, and then things stopped. He had 471 points and looked like a great pick at >900. Then he rode the Dauphine and crashed. Then he rode the Tour and crashed, and that was pretty much it. Some riders have tendencies to crash, others are just unlucky sometimes, and as long as it's not the former with him, he can score on any terrain and can win against good fields, so I've gotta pick him. 1500-2000 is reachable.
Pavel Sivakov (368 points, 31 teams) - coming out of lockdown last year, word was that he was beasting it at Ineos training camp. It looked like he was poised to build on the breakout year of 2019. He got 2nd in Occitanie behind his teammate, and then finished just over 3 minutes back in the Dauphine after losing 2:53 riding Thomas to the finish line in stage 2 before it was clear Thomas wasn't good enough to lead (and before Bernal withdrew). Then he crashed extremely heavily at the start of the Tour and rode his battered self to the end with a 4th place stage on the way. He's the type of rider that's good enough to get 2nd while riding for his leader who wins; I'm convinced he can top 5 a GT even if he doesn't lead. And he's good enough that he should be able to find himself in the lead, even at Ineos. 800-1200 seems attainable.
Okay, that's it for now. Might follow up on others later.
Armchair Cyclist
Moderator
- Mar 22, 2010
- 14,012
- 9,631
- 28,180
It was very easy this time to find the most popular team within budget, what I would label the Collective Wisdom team in my games:
For budget reasons, I had to drop Sergio Higuita (30th in popularity) and Julian Alaphilippe (32nd), but I could bring in Arensman who was 34th and Gallopin (joint 35th with Michael Matthews, but cheaper than him: Bling would have put this group over 7500). So while the top 33 had an inadmissible cost of 8921 for a popularity ranking of 1496, this lot have a popularity rank of 1486 for a very affordable 7269.
The highest popularity rank for a real team seems to be Object with 1334, and 24 of the most popular 33 in his team of 33.
| BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley |
| BUCHMANN Emanuel |
| PIDCOCK Thomas |
| FROOME Chris |
| KRUIJSWIJK Steven |
| POLITT Nils |
| VANMARCKE Sep |
| JUNGELS Bob |
| LATOUR Pierre |
| DE PLUS Laurens |
| SAGAN Peter |
| BARDET Romain |
| SARREAU Marc |
| NAESEN Oliver |
| SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro |
| EVENEPOEL Remco |
| MOSCON Gianni |
| TRENTIN Matteo |
| TEUNISSEN Mike |
| GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando |
| JANSEN Amund Grøndahl |
| MOLLEMA Bauke |
| VAN AVERMAET Greg |
| LAPORTE Christophe |
| THOMAS Geraint |
| VIVIANI Elia |
| BRENNER Marco |
| LUTSENKO Alexey |
| SIVAKOV Pavel |
| VANSEVENANT Mauri |
| HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose |
| ARENSMAN Thymen |
| GALLOPIN Tony |
For budget reasons, I had to drop Sergio Higuita (30th in popularity) and Julian Alaphilippe (32nd), but I could bring in Arensman who was 34th and Gallopin (joint 35th with Michael Matthews, but cheaper than him: Bling would have put this group over 7500). So while the top 33 had an inadmissible cost of 8921 for a popularity ranking of 1496, this lot have a popularity rank of 1486 for a very affordable 7269.
The highest popularity rank for a real team seems to be Object with 1334, and 24 of the most popular 33 in his team of 33.
Lawless is definetly a interesting pick and could be really good if his focus is right and ride the right races. Personally I got scared away from choosing him, by his comments about going to focus more on the bigger springclassics and going to the team primaraly to learn from Terpstra, so I fear it will be a year with less focus on the smaller french races he could do very well in, especially if he starts to focus more on his sprint again, and more a year with him focussing on riding as a helper and learning in the bigger races. And also with EBH comming to the team besides Bonfazio and Manzin he will max be the fourth sprinter on the team meaning he likely wont get opportunities like for instance Scheldepreijs now. But still despite all these reservations for sure he should be able to score decently and wont be a bad pick.
Your team looks well-chosen, as usual... I know you rushed around some changes so it probably seems haphazard from your perspective, but you've shown you're methodical in creating your team so I'm sure even your last minute replacements were fundamentally good picks.
We've got some overlap as usual, but just to drop a couple of comments on guys I didn't pick that you did...
Sagan - I think that not only the price tag made it a hard fit (and I definitively chose Remco as my expensive pick), but I managed to talk myself into thinking that he's a little on the decline phase and can't quite reach the heights of old. This is odd, given that almost all of my similar profile guys are older than him. But I feel like his ceiling is just not quite as high as it was a couple of years ago. He's definitely a rider I left out that I'm not 100% confident in my stance on him. Plus if I'm saying Sagan might be your weak point, that means you have a good team.
Gaudu - it's hard to go wrong in the 300-500 price range this year. Ultimately I went with more consistent veterans with a higher floor but maybe lower ceiling. Plus maybe I have gotten some fatigue from seriously considering Gaudu for what feels like 5 years in a row.
Lutsenko & Teuns - also strongly considered... ultimately it got to a point where I asked myself if I thought Sivakov would score more than either of these guys and decided yes. Lutsenko I worry is going to water down his customary early season haul of points due to stronger fields (although he's beat strong fields before too) and has had more good seasons than great seasons. Teuns should be solid, just went with a guy I thought had higher ceiling.
Matthews I didn't even think of. I probably should have, but I'm somewhat glad I didn't because it would have made picking my team that much harder.
Valgren I think is quite high variance and too volatile for me to feel great about having him.
So really I think what I'm saying is there's a good case for all these guys, the difference is on the margins, and I took a bigger risk on some choices (Evenepoel vs Sagan) while being more conservative on others. I like the team! Like the picks of Meeus, Thijssen and Stewart.
- Dec 28, 2010
- 3,777
- 2,501
- 19,180
He was one of the rushed ones, who wasn't seriously on my radar until yesterday. But I think he's pretty safe. And I wanted someone safe after first being nervous about Dumo and Remco and then chucking Bernal into my team. Gaudu didn't get paid much in terms of points last year, while he seemed to reach a new level in the Vuelta. He was also 6th in the tough 2019 LBL and because he's riding the Tour, he might do the Italian fall classics where he has great results even as Pinot's domestique. The more I think about it, the more happy I am with this last-minute pick.
I have the same worries about Lutsenko. He came back into my team after Dumo-exit. I got rid of Izagirre, but Teuns will also suffer from cancellation of early season races. Kind of forgot that. He's always great in Valencia and Andalucia.
I wasn't really familiar with Sivakov's problems last year. I kind of zoned out a bit from cycling with all the covid cancellations. Might have considered him way more strongly if I had that info. But he's still got loads of cooks to contend with.
I have always been wanting to pick him even at ~1300 in earlier years, but there were always some slightly better picks. Going back to Greenedge should make him even more of a points machine. His consistency is amazing, and he always hits the ground running. And he's in play for the worlds. I've always felt his points potential was way higher than what he has gotten.
They're very typical picks for me, aren't they?
I also have a good feeling about Hermans and Grøndahl Jansen.I was grappling with Leknessund all through the process. Really wanted him in, but couldn't quite justify it with all the other great picks in the medium price range. If he does as well as he could, I'll be so disappointed for not having him. If there is one neo-pro who could get to 1000 points, it's him.
Hamilton and O'Connor were also alternatives for the Leknessund spot (almost same price), but in the end, I didn't go with any of those ~200 riders. Valgren was a constant in my team and never really up for debate. Just decided to take a punt on him. But I can understand your reservations. He could get 1000 points or fail to break even.
- Oct 12, 2009
- 38
- 7
- 8,595
My team for this year:
SAGAN Peter
MATTHEWS Michael
YATES Adam
VAN AVERMAET Greg
BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley
LUTSENKO Alexey
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
TRENTIN Matteo
BARDET Romain
COLBRELLI Sonny
NAESEN Oliver
MOLLEMA Bauke
VIVIANI Elia
VALGREN HUNDAHL (ANDERSEN) Michael
BOL Cees
BUCHMANN Emanuel
OOMEN Sam
MÄDER Gino
GROVES Kaden
JUNGELS Bob
LAPORTE Christophe
POLITT Nils
SARREAU Marc
VANMARCKE Sep
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
PIDCOCK Thomas
LATOUR Pierre
GALLOPIN Tony
FROOME Chris
ALEOTTI Giovanni
DE PLUS Laurens
GENIEZ Alexandre
Evenepoel was in my team the whole time, but the news that he hasn’t trained these past few weeks made me remove him. I am already regretting it though!
SAGAN Peter
MATTHEWS Michael
YATES Adam
VAN AVERMAET Greg
BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley
LUTSENKO Alexey
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
TRENTIN Matteo
BARDET Romain
COLBRELLI Sonny
NAESEN Oliver
MOLLEMA Bauke
VIVIANI Elia
VALGREN HUNDAHL (ANDERSEN) Michael
BOL Cees
BUCHMANN Emanuel
OOMEN Sam
MÄDER Gino
GROVES Kaden
JUNGELS Bob
LAPORTE Christophe
POLITT Nils
SARREAU Marc
VANMARCKE Sep
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
PIDCOCK Thomas
LATOUR Pierre
GALLOPIN Tony
FROOME Chris
ALEOTTI Giovanni
DE PLUS Laurens
GENIEZ Alexandre
Evenepoel was in my team the whole time, but the news that he hasn’t trained these past few weeks made me remove him. I am already regretting it though!
Okay, one more post before I end my night (it is now midnight where I am); just having fun talking about cycling coming up again finally.
There's a race this weekend! Who's in it for me?
GP Marseillaise
Christophe Laporte
Matteo Trentin
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Pierre Latour
Chris Lawless
Well, the last three guys are on the same team, but it's a start. Normally any of these guys save Latour can score some points, and Laporte will certainly be designated for his team (probably Trentin too). EBH or Lawless I'd be happy for either for TDE.
Slow start to the season it may be, but at least it's a start.
There's a race this weekend! Who's in it for me?
GP Marseillaise
Christophe Laporte
Matteo Trentin
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Pierre Latour
Chris Lawless
Well, the last three guys are on the same team, but it's a start. Normally any of these guys save Latour can score some points, and Laporte will certainly be designated for his team (probably Trentin too). EBH or Lawless I'd be happy for either for TDE.
Slow start to the season it may be, but at least it's a start.
My team this year. Maybe One of the teams with the most popular riders on it!?
I can’t remember if that is a good or bad thing looking back at the previous years...
EVENEPOEL Remco
SAGAN Peter
THOMAS Geraint
BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley
WELLENS Tim
LUTSENKO Alexey
TEUNS Dylan
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
TRENTIN Matteo
SIVAKOV Pavel
HAIG Jack
BARDET Romain
LEKNESSUND Andreas
MOLLEMA Bauke
TEUNISSEN Mike
BUCHMANN Emanuel
LAPORTE Christophe
JUNGELS Bob
VINGEGAARD RASMUSSEN Jonas
POLITT Nils
BJERG Mikkel
VANMARCKE Sep
MOSCON Gianni
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro
PIDCOCK Thomas
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
LATOUR Pierre
TERPSTRA Niki
FROOME Chris
CAVENDISH Mark
VANSEVENANT Mauri
DE PLUS Laurens
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
I can’t remember if that is a good or bad thing looking back at the previous years...
EVENEPOEL Remco
SAGAN Peter
THOMAS Geraint
BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley
WELLENS Tim
LUTSENKO Alexey
TEUNS Dylan
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
TRENTIN Matteo
SIVAKOV Pavel
HAIG Jack
BARDET Romain
LEKNESSUND Andreas
MOLLEMA Bauke
TEUNISSEN Mike
BUCHMANN Emanuel
LAPORTE Christophe
JUNGELS Bob
VINGEGAARD RASMUSSEN Jonas
POLITT Nils
BJERG Mikkel
VANMARCKE Sep
MOSCON Gianni
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro
PIDCOCK Thomas
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
LATOUR Pierre
TERPSTRA Niki
FROOME Chris
CAVENDISH Mark
VANSEVENANT Mauri
DE PLUS Laurens
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
- Aug 20, 2011
- 970
- 94
- 10,080
This is always exciting. I usually pick a team that is quite far down on the popularity ranking, but this year is obviously different. I have 11 of the top 12 most popular riders. Only missed Laurens De Plus which I had certainly picked if I had checked his 2020 score. Not a single unique pick (first time for me). Most obscure rider is Vadim Pronskiy. Kristoff and Bettiol will be key riders for me this year.
My best placement (15th) yet in this game came last year, in my third year playing the game. Hoping to do something similar and more, in my fourth year. I started pretty early with my team. I have tweaked and made small changes a couple of times. Hopefully I made more right decisions, then wrong ones in the end.
So, here we go:
Marc Hirschi (826 points, picked by 19 teams)
Huge talent and he could double his score if he continues to perform at a high level. He will fight for big wins. I'm unconcerned about the late switch he has made to UAE. It seems like a calculated move.
Peter Sagan (767 points, picked by 55 teams)
He could benefit from other riders going in as the top favorites in the big races. Up until the last year or so he was always going in with all the pressure on his shoulders from everybody. Maybe that pressure has eased up a bit now. He only rode MSR this year, came 4th, out of the classics. Rode 2 GTs in which he was consistent in. He was rather unlucky to only get 1 victory, but what a victory it was! I feel like it is an exaggeration that he is past it. Sagan has echoed those sentiments too when asked about it. Maybe it is his last year riding for Bora and that it is a contract year was also something to consider when picking him. There should be motivation to get back to winning ways again for many different reasons. If he does, then the others better watch out.
Alejandro Valverde (689 points, picked by 4 teams)
So I am part of the 4 "geniuses" that believe. All jokes aside, considering he has scored about 2000 points every season for the most part of his career it should be a no-brainer but it is not a given this time. News came that he will retire and that this will most likely be his last season. I hope that if he will be racing a predominantly Spanish calendar (even though the cancellations just keep stacking up), Ardennes races, Olympics maybe and then Vuelta it should be good opportunities to score some points for him. I trust that Valverde will want to go out with a couple of victories and have a good season. I'm not expecting 2000 points, but over a 1000? 1500 maybe? That's not too far-fetched I hope and I would like a legend to go out as a legend.
Thibaut Pinot (631 points, picked by 20 teams)
Third time's a charm, since his last two seasons has been something to forget about the way they have ended. In the best of worlds he will be doing the Giro + Vuelta combination and then maybe he could have a peak for the Italian fall races. I want to see him win and have a great season.
Alexander Kristoff (518 points, picked by 14 teams)
He has been a consistent performer for years and few can beat him in a sprint after a hard race. Turning 34 this year but still going strong.
Greg Van Avermaet (503 points, picked by 33 teams)
This guy went from being 7th (2019) to 59th (2020) pointwise on the CQ ranking list. If he has another top 10 season left in him, even top 20, then the upside here is great. It is a plus that his new team has really strengthened their classics squad and will be focused on that.
Alexey Lutsenko (397 points, picked by 31 teams)
Usually gets a couple of wins during a season and he can score points in both stage-races and one-day races. He is a neat rider.
Romain Bardet (358 points, picked by 47 teams)
From AG2R to DSM. He has said that he looks forward to not being the focal point and that the change of environment was probably needed. A new approach when it comes to everything and being part of a collective could suit him. He is a pretty good one-day racer and maybe he will focus more on that, but he will surely be able to get some GC results also.
Oliver Naesen (344 points, picked by 42 teams)
Good rider for the classics and cobbles. He has been very close but never gotten that big win yet in his career (unless you count the NC, but you know what I mean). Hopefully he will benefit from having a better team around him in the classics.
Rigoberto Uran (277 points, picked by 8 teams)
He suffered a bad injury at the Vuelta in 2019. He only had one race in the beginning of 2020, Tour of Colombia, as his first race back from that. 22th in Dauphine after the break. 8th in Tour. 24th in WC. 8th in LBL. Decent results. He has a goal of being on the podium at the Vuelta this year since he would then have podiums at each GT. Considering he has had the last two seasons cut short for different reasons I hope he can get an injury-free and uninterrupted year, that should mean a decent return. Only picked by 7 others, so one to cheer for a little extra.
Elia Viviani (261 points, picked by 32 teams)
Surely the decline could not have happened this fast? The season didn't start well and never got going for him. Covid came. Nothing really worked around him on the new team. He just struggled for many different reasons. He was far behind and never looked to be in good shape at any point. Lost confidence in himself. He can do better. I was counting on that but then the news about his heart problem came. He has had surgery and luckily the whole season doesn't seem to be affected. A minor setback that I hope doesn't turn into a big one. Heart problems are always scary.
Quinn Simmons (205 points, picked by 22 teams)
I don't want to miss out if this kid scores +800 points or something. He doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the box outside of cycling, I will say that.
Mike Teunissen (172 points, picked by 34 teams)
Was the 2019 season a one-season wonder? Perhaps it was an outlier but 6th in Omloop at the start of last season should point towards it not being a complete fluke at least. Followed up by 8th in the BinckBank Tour. In fact, he only had 15 race days last season and scored 172 points. A full season and he should score more points. He has a good sprint and can do well in the semi-classics and classics type races.
Emanuel Buchmann (157 points, picked by 79 teams)
I expected him on a lot of teams. I feel like he is one of the “musts” and many others seem to think so also.
Sam Oomen (156 points, picked by 13 teams)
He showed very good signs that he is slowly coming back from his injury. He is now at Jumbo-Visma who rates him very highly and it should be a good fit, even though they already have a strong team with many good riders. I think he can pick up points here and there even in a domestic role and he will surely get a chance to do something in a few races too. Hopefully even more so with TD out for the indefinite future.
Stefan Bissegger (145 points, picked by 19 teams)
I liked what he showed in the BinckBank Tour and a rider that might show himself even more in his second season with the pros. I think he could even be described as a light-version of his fellow countryman Hirschi. They share some of the same qualities as riders and he is a big talent for the future. EF has lost some experienced riders but that can make room for others to grow.
Bob Jungels (136 points, picked by 61 teams)
He had a pretty rough time in the Tour. An incident with Higuita, who had to leave the race, and then being hit by an ambulance. It affected his racing afterwards I assume, since he only raced FW and LBL without making any noise. He is a part of AG2R new transformation. A team that will really focus on the classics. He is a good one-day racer who has won some big races and will be part of a pretty strong group for that. He can also ride some races for GC (not GTs I hope), since AG2R doesn't really have anyone else for that right now. He is available for a good price in this game with a likely chance for profit.
Cristophe Laporte (136 points, picked by 32 teams)
He should be able to score more points on the French calendar. One of those that I think was really hampered by a lot of the races he does well in being cancelled altogether last year. With Viviani having a focus on the Olympics also, Laporte should have a bigger role too than just being deployed in Viviani's sprint train. Cofidis as a team pretty much underperformed last year, except for G. Martin. They should want more victories and Laporte is one of their better riders for that.
Jasper De Buyst (129 points, picked by 1 team)
A dark horse perhaps, but he can score points in some semi-classics and some lower category races. Did so in 2017 and 2019, so going by that trend then maybe 2021 is the year again for him? He will be working for Ewan when they race together, but he will probably get some opportunities on his own throughout the year or towards the end of it in some races. He can sprint too. Could be hit or miss this one, but a unique pick is fun to have.
Fabio Aru (124 points, picked by 14 teams)
I think there has been a few positive updates around him during the off-season and he has raced a couple of cyclo-cross races. He seems to be in good spirits and at Qhubeka he will get opportunities to race. Disregarding the Tour, he scored points in all the other races he took part in last year. I don't think he is as finished as one felt after how he left the Tour. I also love a good comeback story, so cmon Aru!
Nils Politt (89 points, picked by 65 teams)
This was an easy pick for me and many others it seem like. He is now at Bora and if he can repeat some of his form that he had in 2019, when it comes to the classics, he should be a good pick.
Marc Sarreau (70 points, picked by 43 teams)
He was involved in that horrible crash in Poland and didn't race more after that last season. He has now changed teams from FDJ to AG2R. He is a decent sprinter and will surely get many chances on the French calendar to score some points. If he has regained full fitness from his shoulder injury there could be a good chance for profit.
Sep Vanmarcke (70 points, picked by 62 teams)
He will be a leader for ISN at the classics. If he is consistently up there in races then he could bring back a decent return. ISN has added plenty of experience and seems to be getting better as a team. One of the teams being able to invest, rather than cutting costs. Watching how D. Martin raced at the end of the season for them was great, maybe Vanmarcke could still get his big win here.
Gianni Moscon (69 points, picked by 39 teams)
I don't like the guy. One of those that doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. Maybe he is just a “bad apple” that won't come to fruition. One could make the case that he shouldn't be allowed or given another chance to even ride in the peloton. Last year it was another dumb move by him at KBK. Then covid came. His father got sick I believe. Maybe this whole year has finally been the wake-up call he needed? One could hope because he is talented and has a high ceiling. He should be motivated to get his career back on track. Question is if he continues to be his own worst enemy or not. For this price it doesn't really matter what he does. If he finally turns over a new leaf then the upside could be great. I will ignore my feelings on this one.
Steven Kruijswijk (57 points, picked by 72 teams)
I thought he might start to fall into the Gesink role more and more, but with TD now out, he could still continue to have a big role on the team. Crashes, injuries, bad luck and not getting any younger could take its toll but for 57 points he is an obvious pick with some question marks attached to him.
Thomas Pidcock (57 points, picked by 76 teams)
I don't want to miss out if he smashes it, even if he might just race here and there because his focus is not solely on the road.
Pierre Latour (49 points, picked by 61 teams)
Picked him last year like many others. An obvious pick this year. Very low risk if he doesn't perform. Stepping down a level is not a bad thing for him, racing predominantly on the French calendar and in some races that could have a weaker field. He should have opportunities to score points.
Amund Gröndahl Jansen (35 points, picked by 33 teams)
He only had one race before Covid happened. DNF in Omloop. Rode the Tour in a supporting role and just didn't get any results in the other few races he lined up for. He has now changed teams from Jumbo-Visma to BikeExchange where he will be a leader in the semi-classics and classics type races together with or just right behind Michael Matthews in the pecking order. Hoped he would have been picked by few, but I am not surprised many knowledgable people thought about and picked him too.
Chris Froome (30 points, picked by 72 teams)
From Ineos to ISN. Not the biggest fan of him and I was right on not picking him last year. It makes more sense to pick him now after seeing him being able to actually race again. He is slowly getting back to where he might turn out to be a good pick.
Christopher Lawless (25 points, picked by 21 teams)
He had a very good 2019. 3rd in Scheldeprijs. Won Tour of Yorkshire. 4th in Tour de Wallonie. Last year I think the break ruined his season and he just didn't have any form once racing got back in the few races he took part in. It also seems it is quite easy to get “lost in the sauce” a bit at Ineos, some riders have great seasons and others never seem to get going at all. He has now changed teams from Ineos to Total Direct Energie. They seem excited to have him and he welcomes a new challenge. Could be good.
Elie Gesbert (6 points, picked by 8 teams)
He is a decent rider that showed his potential in 2019 with having his best season yet, only to get injured in his second race in 2020 after having a pretty good first result to start it off the day before in Mallorca. He got his contract renewed in April last year, while being injured, which surely was a boost in morale. The bar isn't set very high to improve if he has recovered from his injury.
Laurens De Plus (5 points, picked by 56 teams)
From Jumbo-Visma to Ineos. Barely raced last season. He will be in a domestic role, but could score some points for himself too. He is a great and very strong rider when injury-free and in good shape. Hard to predict what you´ll get from him though.
Marco Brenner (0 points, picked by 31 teams)
One for the future and whatever he can do this year I'll take it.
Stats
Average age: 28,06
Nationalities: 14, where France is the most represented with 6 followed by Belgium with 5. Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Great Britain tied for third with 3 each.
Teams: 16 WT and 2 PRT. The most represented team is AG2R Citroën Team with 4 riders.
@skidmark maybe I am extremely blind but I cant find my team in the "rank popularity" tab. If it still under work, then no worries.
edit: some spelling mistakes
So, here we go:
Marc Hirschi (826 points, picked by 19 teams)
Huge talent and he could double his score if he continues to perform at a high level. He will fight for big wins. I'm unconcerned about the late switch he has made to UAE. It seems like a calculated move.
Peter Sagan (767 points, picked by 55 teams)
He could benefit from other riders going in as the top favorites in the big races. Up until the last year or so he was always going in with all the pressure on his shoulders from everybody. Maybe that pressure has eased up a bit now. He only rode MSR this year, came 4th, out of the classics. Rode 2 GTs in which he was consistent in. He was rather unlucky to only get 1 victory, but what a victory it was! I feel like it is an exaggeration that he is past it. Sagan has echoed those sentiments too when asked about it. Maybe it is his last year riding for Bora and that it is a contract year was also something to consider when picking him. There should be motivation to get back to winning ways again for many different reasons. If he does, then the others better watch out.
Alejandro Valverde (689 points, picked by 4 teams)
So I am part of the 4 "geniuses" that believe. All jokes aside, considering he has scored about 2000 points every season for the most part of his career it should be a no-brainer but it is not a given this time. News came that he will retire and that this will most likely be his last season. I hope that if he will be racing a predominantly Spanish calendar (even though the cancellations just keep stacking up), Ardennes races, Olympics maybe and then Vuelta it should be good opportunities to score some points for him. I trust that Valverde will want to go out with a couple of victories and have a good season. I'm not expecting 2000 points, but over a 1000? 1500 maybe? That's not too far-fetched I hope and I would like a legend to go out as a legend.
Thibaut Pinot (631 points, picked by 20 teams)
Third time's a charm, since his last two seasons has been something to forget about the way they have ended. In the best of worlds he will be doing the Giro + Vuelta combination and then maybe he could have a peak for the Italian fall races. I want to see him win and have a great season.
Alexander Kristoff (518 points, picked by 14 teams)
He has been a consistent performer for years and few can beat him in a sprint after a hard race. Turning 34 this year but still going strong.
Greg Van Avermaet (503 points, picked by 33 teams)
This guy went from being 7th (2019) to 59th (2020) pointwise on the CQ ranking list. If he has another top 10 season left in him, even top 20, then the upside here is great. It is a plus that his new team has really strengthened their classics squad and will be focused on that.
Alexey Lutsenko (397 points, picked by 31 teams)
Usually gets a couple of wins during a season and he can score points in both stage-races and one-day races. He is a neat rider.
Romain Bardet (358 points, picked by 47 teams)
From AG2R to DSM. He has said that he looks forward to not being the focal point and that the change of environment was probably needed. A new approach when it comes to everything and being part of a collective could suit him. He is a pretty good one-day racer and maybe he will focus more on that, but he will surely be able to get some GC results also.
Oliver Naesen (344 points, picked by 42 teams)
Good rider for the classics and cobbles. He has been very close but never gotten that big win yet in his career (unless you count the NC, but you know what I mean). Hopefully he will benefit from having a better team around him in the classics.
Rigoberto Uran (277 points, picked by 8 teams)
He suffered a bad injury at the Vuelta in 2019. He only had one race in the beginning of 2020, Tour of Colombia, as his first race back from that. 22th in Dauphine after the break. 8th in Tour. 24th in WC. 8th in LBL. Decent results. He has a goal of being on the podium at the Vuelta this year since he would then have podiums at each GT. Considering he has had the last two seasons cut short for different reasons I hope he can get an injury-free and uninterrupted year, that should mean a decent return. Only picked by 7 others, so one to cheer for a little extra.
Elia Viviani (261 points, picked by 32 teams)
Surely the decline could not have happened this fast? The season didn't start well and never got going for him. Covid came. Nothing really worked around him on the new team. He just struggled for many different reasons. He was far behind and never looked to be in good shape at any point. Lost confidence in himself. He can do better. I was counting on that but then the news about his heart problem came. He has had surgery and luckily the whole season doesn't seem to be affected. A minor setback that I hope doesn't turn into a big one. Heart problems are always scary.
Quinn Simmons (205 points, picked by 22 teams)
I don't want to miss out if this kid scores +800 points or something. He doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the box outside of cycling, I will say that.
Mike Teunissen (172 points, picked by 34 teams)
Was the 2019 season a one-season wonder? Perhaps it was an outlier but 6th in Omloop at the start of last season should point towards it not being a complete fluke at least. Followed up by 8th in the BinckBank Tour. In fact, he only had 15 race days last season and scored 172 points. A full season and he should score more points. He has a good sprint and can do well in the semi-classics and classics type races.
Emanuel Buchmann (157 points, picked by 79 teams)
I expected him on a lot of teams. I feel like he is one of the “musts” and many others seem to think so also.
Sam Oomen (156 points, picked by 13 teams)
He showed very good signs that he is slowly coming back from his injury. He is now at Jumbo-Visma who rates him very highly and it should be a good fit, even though they already have a strong team with many good riders. I think he can pick up points here and there even in a domestic role and he will surely get a chance to do something in a few races too. Hopefully even more so with TD out for the indefinite future.
Stefan Bissegger (145 points, picked by 19 teams)
I liked what he showed in the BinckBank Tour and a rider that might show himself even more in his second season with the pros. I think he could even be described as a light-version of his fellow countryman Hirschi. They share some of the same qualities as riders and he is a big talent for the future. EF has lost some experienced riders but that can make room for others to grow.
Bob Jungels (136 points, picked by 61 teams)
He had a pretty rough time in the Tour. An incident with Higuita, who had to leave the race, and then being hit by an ambulance. It affected his racing afterwards I assume, since he only raced FW and LBL without making any noise. He is a part of AG2R new transformation. A team that will really focus on the classics. He is a good one-day racer who has won some big races and will be part of a pretty strong group for that. He can also ride some races for GC (not GTs I hope), since AG2R doesn't really have anyone else for that right now. He is available for a good price in this game with a likely chance for profit.
Cristophe Laporte (136 points, picked by 32 teams)
He should be able to score more points on the French calendar. One of those that I think was really hampered by a lot of the races he does well in being cancelled altogether last year. With Viviani having a focus on the Olympics also, Laporte should have a bigger role too than just being deployed in Viviani's sprint train. Cofidis as a team pretty much underperformed last year, except for G. Martin. They should want more victories and Laporte is one of their better riders for that.
Jasper De Buyst (129 points, picked by 1 team)
A dark horse perhaps, but he can score points in some semi-classics and some lower category races. Did so in 2017 and 2019, so going by that trend then maybe 2021 is the year again for him? He will be working for Ewan when they race together, but he will probably get some opportunities on his own throughout the year or towards the end of it in some races. He can sprint too. Could be hit or miss this one, but a unique pick is fun to have.
Fabio Aru (124 points, picked by 14 teams)
I think there has been a few positive updates around him during the off-season and he has raced a couple of cyclo-cross races. He seems to be in good spirits and at Qhubeka he will get opportunities to race. Disregarding the Tour, he scored points in all the other races he took part in last year. I don't think he is as finished as one felt after how he left the Tour. I also love a good comeback story, so cmon Aru!
Nils Politt (89 points, picked by 65 teams)
This was an easy pick for me and many others it seem like. He is now at Bora and if he can repeat some of his form that he had in 2019, when it comes to the classics, he should be a good pick.
Marc Sarreau (70 points, picked by 43 teams)
He was involved in that horrible crash in Poland and didn't race more after that last season. He has now changed teams from FDJ to AG2R. He is a decent sprinter and will surely get many chances on the French calendar to score some points. If he has regained full fitness from his shoulder injury there could be a good chance for profit.
Sep Vanmarcke (70 points, picked by 62 teams)
He will be a leader for ISN at the classics. If he is consistently up there in races then he could bring back a decent return. ISN has added plenty of experience and seems to be getting better as a team. One of the teams being able to invest, rather than cutting costs. Watching how D. Martin raced at the end of the season for them was great, maybe Vanmarcke could still get his big win here.
Gianni Moscon (69 points, picked by 39 teams)
I don't like the guy. One of those that doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. Maybe he is just a “bad apple” that won't come to fruition. One could make the case that he shouldn't be allowed or given another chance to even ride in the peloton. Last year it was another dumb move by him at KBK. Then covid came. His father got sick I believe. Maybe this whole year has finally been the wake-up call he needed? One could hope because he is talented and has a high ceiling. He should be motivated to get his career back on track. Question is if he continues to be his own worst enemy or not. For this price it doesn't really matter what he does. If he finally turns over a new leaf then the upside could be great. I will ignore my feelings on this one.
Steven Kruijswijk (57 points, picked by 72 teams)
I thought he might start to fall into the Gesink role more and more, but with TD now out, he could still continue to have a big role on the team. Crashes, injuries, bad luck and not getting any younger could take its toll but for 57 points he is an obvious pick with some question marks attached to him.
Thomas Pidcock (57 points, picked by 76 teams)
I don't want to miss out if he smashes it, even if he might just race here and there because his focus is not solely on the road.
Pierre Latour (49 points, picked by 61 teams)
Picked him last year like many others. An obvious pick this year. Very low risk if he doesn't perform. Stepping down a level is not a bad thing for him, racing predominantly on the French calendar and in some races that could have a weaker field. He should have opportunities to score points.
Amund Gröndahl Jansen (35 points, picked by 33 teams)
He only had one race before Covid happened. DNF in Omloop. Rode the Tour in a supporting role and just didn't get any results in the other few races he lined up for. He has now changed teams from Jumbo-Visma to BikeExchange where he will be a leader in the semi-classics and classics type races together with or just right behind Michael Matthews in the pecking order. Hoped he would have been picked by few, but I am not surprised many knowledgable people thought about and picked him too.
Chris Froome (30 points, picked by 72 teams)
From Ineos to ISN. Not the biggest fan of him and I was right on not picking him last year. It makes more sense to pick him now after seeing him being able to actually race again. He is slowly getting back to where he might turn out to be a good pick.
Christopher Lawless (25 points, picked by 21 teams)
He had a very good 2019. 3rd in Scheldeprijs. Won Tour of Yorkshire. 4th in Tour de Wallonie. Last year I think the break ruined his season and he just didn't have any form once racing got back in the few races he took part in. It also seems it is quite easy to get “lost in the sauce” a bit at Ineos, some riders have great seasons and others never seem to get going at all. He has now changed teams from Ineos to Total Direct Energie. They seem excited to have him and he welcomes a new challenge. Could be good.
Elie Gesbert (6 points, picked by 8 teams)
He is a decent rider that showed his potential in 2019 with having his best season yet, only to get injured in his second race in 2020 after having a pretty good first result to start it off the day before in Mallorca. He got his contract renewed in April last year, while being injured, which surely was a boost in morale. The bar isn't set very high to improve if he has recovered from his injury.
Laurens De Plus (5 points, picked by 56 teams)
From Jumbo-Visma to Ineos. Barely raced last season. He will be in a domestic role, but could score some points for himself too. He is a great and very strong rider when injury-free and in good shape. Hard to predict what you´ll get from him though.
Marco Brenner (0 points, picked by 31 teams)
One for the future and whatever he can do this year I'll take it.
Stats
Average age: 28,06
Nationalities: 14, where France is the most represented with 6 followed by Belgium with 5. Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Great Britain tied for third with 3 each.
Teams: 16 WT and 2 PRT. The most represented team is AG2R Citroën Team with 4 riders.
@skidmark maybe I am extremely blind but I cant find my team in the "rank popularity" tab. If it still under work, then no worries.
edit: some spelling mistakes
Last edited:
- Jul 16, 2011
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Picked early and probably with less thought than usual. But there are so many weird variables this year that luck is going to play a significant role in the outcome of the game.
I might not trouble the leaders but it's a team that will give me a lot of fun.
| BARDET Romain - no brainer for me. Refreshed outlook and programme should pay off. |
| HIRSCHI Marc - picked him last year and staying loyal (I dropped Pogacar last year after having him in 2019!). Huge potential. Good all rounder. |
| POLITT Nils - obvious. |
| SAGAN Peter - huge potential upside and can score in all kinds of races without winning. Reliable points collector through the season. |
| CAMARGO PINEDA Diego Andres - always like to find a few youngsters |
| GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando - I keep picking him and he keeps having disasters. With a clear run he'll score big. |
| SARREAU Marc - picked him last year on 700. No brainer if he recovers. |
| BAGIOLI Andrea - a hunch. |
| ELISSONDE Kenny - picked him last year. I think he can do better again. |
| ALAPHILIPPE Julian - best rider in the world for me. Reliable points in all kinds of races. Huge risk if he gets injured but still potential 1000 pt up side. |
| DUNBAR Eddie - he'll improve his score for sure. |
| OOMEN Sam - cheap |
| PIDCOCK Thomas - can't leave out |
| BRENNER Marco - no risk. Hopefully ample reward. |
| KNOX James - questioning my loyalty here. |
| ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo - potential. |
| EVENEPOEL Remco - massive risk but emotionally hard to leave out. |
| FROOME Chris - you don't have to like him. |
| FORMOLO Davide - obvious pick. |
| HAYTER Ethan - exciting potential |
| DONOVAN Mark - potential |
| JUNGELS Bob - I've picked him when he was much more expensive. Nailed on. |
| TOUZE Damien - Another youngster with upside |
| LUTSENKO Alexey - versatile and a winner. |
| SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro - cheap and obvious. |
| FEDOROV Yevgeniy - Vino keeps unearthing them. Hope it's another. |
| LAWLESS Christopher - I was hoping not too many would spot him. |
| GESBERT Elie - should be a great pick and rare |
| PICCOLO Andrea - throw of the dice |
| KAMP Alexander - ditto |
| WANDAHL Frederik - ditto |
| DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd - seemed cheap to me |
| WILLIAMS Stephen - fitting the budget, |
I might not trouble the leaders but it's a team that will give me a lot of fun.
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